Now that October is here, it feels like we’re on the final approach to wrapping up the year. I have neglected to post regular updates this year, primarily because it has been a somewhat chaotic year with lots of projects and travel–while worldschooling, of course–sprinkled over the months. It’s not that I haven’t had things to say or share. In fact, at any given time, I probably have at least a dozen posts swirling in my brain that I ‘intend’ to post, along with hundreds of photos that I would love to share.

To get ahead of the holiday rush, I’m going to do an early wrap up with some travel highlights from the year.

It has been a fun and exciting year of travel. Some of the places the kids and I visited or stayed at for extended periods of time this year included: New York City, NY; Miami, Florida; Maine; Vermont; New Hampshire; Massachusetts; Connecticut; Turks & Caicos; Quebec, Canada; Switzerland, France, and Iceland. And we aren’t done yet. We still have additional 2016 travel planned before we ring in 2017.

I have been homeschooled for the past five years. In those five years, I have learned a lot about the world through travelling and visiting museums. I have gone to different places in Europe.

In Spain, two years ago, we did a hike called: Camino de Santiago de Compostela. It was a 118 Km walk. I got to see wild, vicious dogs. There were pastures of farmland and grapes everywhere. We tasted the grapes and they tasted like blueberries. The people there make wine from the grapes. I got to learn a bit about agriculture. On the walk, we were able to see how houses were built in this part of Spain. Some houses were built out of wood and slate. One apartment we stayed at, the whole place was made out of stone. I got to learn about architecture and culture.

We stayed in Spain for a month. For half of that time, we stayed in an apartment. In order to get there, you would have to drive on a super, twisty mountain road. Every time I was on that road, I felt like I was going to barf. When we got to the town, it was empty. Nobody was there. Some of the houses were destroyed. We met a girl from Spain who was about 7-years-old. My siblings played with her. We didn’t understand anything that she said. She would try to make out what she was saying by pointing to things. I’ve been taking Spanish for seven years, but it’s still hard to communicate with a native speaker.

When we were leaving the town, my dad pointed out an arch. My dad taught us about how the keystone holds the arch together. We learned about the keystone on top.

We went on a road trip up to Germany to see some friends. We went to Venice, Italy. We went through many tunnels, and drove along the coast of France. We also went to a beautiful beach in Portugal.

One thing that I have learned from being homeschooled is how people live in different countries. If you compare the US and Europe, Europe is way safer than the US. Here’s an example: if you drop your wallet on the street in Iceland, the next day it will still be there, or someone would pick it up and bring it to a police station.

It is easy to learn while being homeschooled. If I don’t understand something, my mom repeats it for me. (I feel like in schools teachers usually don’t repeat something when students don’t understand it.) For example, I didn’t understand the steps for division. It took me a while to learn. I would spend 30 minutes on one division problem. Now, I understand division clearly.

Vacation is learning for us. Camps are vacation. Museums are vacation. The only thing that is not vacation is math….

I want to travel the world and see culture, and experience what most kids can’t see.

In the US (now) I think twice about what I do, what other people say, and how I should react to life’s mysteries because of my homeschooled education.